Faculty from the Schools of Business, Engineering and Liberal Arts spent Jan. 1-9 forging research and other academic partnerships with students and faculty at Bethlehem University, Palestine, and meeting prominent leaders and NGOs in Bethlehem, Hebron, and Jerusalem, including the Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

Michele Saracino, Ph.D., professor and chair of religious studies, is researching swimming as a spiritual practice, relating our connection with water to our interactions with God and others in everyday life.

Maria Maust-Mohl, professor of psychology, and a leading authority on animal communication and behavior, hopes to learn more about the sounds animals make and how the environment affects these sounds for species in zoos and in the wild.

Manhattan College theologian John R. Wilcox, professor emeritus of religious studies, recently published a book outlining the challenges Catholic colleges and universities face with diminishing numbers of clergy members on campus.

Financial historian Charles Geisst, Ph.D., Ambassador Charles A. Gargano Professor of Economics and Finance at Manhattan College, will publish his 19th book, Beggar Thy Neighbor: A History of Usury and Debt, on March 4. Beggar Thy Neighbor recounts the major debt revolutions of the past to the most recent financial crises.